{ "id": 5403878, "name": "Robbie R. JONES v. DOUBLE \"D\" PROPERTIES, INC., An Arkansas Corporation, and Charlie Daniels, Commissioner of State Lands", "name_abbreviation": "Jones v. Double \"D\" Properties, Inc.", "decision_date": "2004-04-29", "docket_number": "03-1009", "first_page": "148", "last_page": "159", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "357 Ark. 148" }, { "type": "parallel", "cite": "161 S.W.3d 839" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "Ark.", "id": 8808, "name": "Arkansas Supreme Court" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 34, "name_long": "Arkansas", "name": "Ark." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "348 Ark. 591", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 74051 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/348/0591-01" ] }, { "cite": "352 Ark. 201", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 1159685 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/352/0201-01" ] }, { "cite": "346 Ark. 144", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 1111340 ], "weight": 4, "year": 2001, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "147" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/346/0144-01" ] }, { "cite": "352 Ark. 190", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 1159702 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/352/0190-01" ] }, { "cite": "345 Ark. 330", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 939026 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2001, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/345/0330-01" ] }, { "cite": "347 Ark. 963", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 683375 ], "weight": 6, "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/347/0963-01" ] }, { "cite": "348 Ark. 259", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 74137 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2002, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "collectively holding that the failure to obtain a ruling is a procedural bar to this court's consideration of an issue on appeal" }, { "parenthetical": "collectively holding that the failure to obtain a ruling is a procedural bar to this court's consideration of an issue on appeal" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/348/0259-01" ] }, { "cite": "351 Ark. 260", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 1158912 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/351/0260-01" ] }, { "cite": "355 Ark. 28", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 2650866 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/355/0028-01" ] }, { "cite": "341 Ark. 231", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 1257781 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2000, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/341/0231-01" ] }, { "cite": "352 Ark. 39", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 1159727 ], "weight": 4, "year": 2003, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "Jones I" }, { "parenthetical": "Jones I" }, { "page": "52" }, { "page": "412-13" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/352/0039-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 781, "char_count": 20218, "ocr_confidence": 0.737, "pagerank": { "raw": 2.0504771912283673e-07, "percentile": 0.7553027222822644 }, "sha256": "f25e4eecada2802fa7bfe08cf9368ff4fc804870c511f0bee5a73040b6b4290e", "simhash": "1:1bebd2a450c7dde5", "word_count": 3428 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T19:35:50.829950+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [], "parties": [ "Robbie R. JONES v. DOUBLE \u201cD\u201d PROPERTIES, INC., An Arkansas Corporation, and Charlie Daniels, Commissioner of State Lands" ], "opinions": [ { "text": "Donald L. Corbin, Justhe order of the\nAppellant Robbie R. Jones appeals the order of the Sebastian County Circuit Court denying her motion for permission to file a new complaint and awarding distribution of the proceeds of a tax sale amongst Jones and Appellees Double \u201cD\u201d Properties, Inc., and Charlie Daniels, Commissioner of State Lands, State of Arkansas. We have jurisdiction over this case pursuant to Ark. Sup. Ct. R. l-2(a)(7), because it is a second or subsequent appeal of this matter in this court. See Jones v. Double \"D\u201d Properties, Inc., 352 Ark. 39, 98 S.W.3d 405 (2003) (Jones I). Jones raises two points for reversal, neither of which has any merit. We thus affirm the trial court\u2019s judgment.\nThe underlying facts of this property dispute were set out fully in our previous decision, and we will not repeat them here except to the extent that they are necessary to an understanding of the current appeal. Suffice it to say that at the heart of this case is the Commissioner\u2019s sale ofjones\u2019s Fort Smith residence to Double \u201cD\u201d due to Jones\u2019s failure to pay taxes on the property beginning in 1996 and continuing through 1999. The sale occurred in April 2001, with the limited warranty deed being issued to Double \u201cD\u201d by the Commissioner in May 2001. Jones initially brought suit against Appellees alleging that she had not been given notice of the delinquency and the right to redeem the property as required by Act 626 of 1983. Double \u201cD\u201d answered the complaint and also filed a counterclaim seeking an order directing Jones to vacate the property. Jones\u2019s husband, Buck Jones, was later joined as a party to the action, and Double \u201cD\u201d filed the same counterclaim against him. Robbie Jones\u2019s attorney at the time, James Filyaw, filed an answer on Buck\u2019s behalf. The matter was tried before the bench on November 2, 2001. Thereafter, the trial court issued an opinion letter, dated December 27, 2001, and entered on January 2, 2002, declaring that the Commissioner\u2019s sale complied with the notice provisions of Act 626 and that the deed issued to Double \u201cD\u201d was valid.\nTwo weeks after the trial court\u2019s ruling, on January 16, 2002, attorney Oscar Stilley entered an appearance on behalf of Buck Jones. Also on that same date, Stilley filed a pleading styled \u201cCross Claim Complaint\u201d on Buck\u2019s behalf. In that pleading, Buck raised for the first time the claim that the sale and the subsequent Commissioneris deed to Double \u201cD\u201d were void because the property taxes levied on the Joneses\u2019 residence were illegal. Specifically, Buck alleged that the 1989 reappraisal of the property was not conducted pursuant to any valid legal authority and was not a valid countywide reappraisal. He thus contended that the reappraisal and the resulting assessments were illegal under Amendment 59 to the Arkansas Constitution. Buck also alleged that the levy was illegal in that it exceeded the product of the millage rate and the legal valuation by approximately $2 per year.\nA hearing was held on March 1, 2002, following which the trial court issued an order finding that Buck\u2019s illegal-exaction claim was, in reality, a compulsory counterclaim that should have been raised at the earliest opportunity. The trial court\u2019s order reflects in part:\nMr. Jones\u2019 earliest opportunity to present his claim occurred when onAugust 10,2001, an answer was filed on behalf of Mr. Jones by Mr. Filyaw. Mr. Jones never presented his claim prior to or at the trial on November 2,2001. However, Mr.Jones waited until after he had notice of the outcome of the case, the Court\u2019s letter opinion of December 27,2001, before he raised his claim on January 16,2002.\nIn so ruling, the trial court relied on the decision of Foundation Telecom., Inc. v. Moe Studio, Inc., 341 Ark. 231, 16 S.W.3d 531 (2000), wherein this court held that an issue, even a constitutional one, must be presented to the trial court at the earliest opportunity and that a party may not wait until the outcome of a case to bring a matter to the trial court\u2019s attention.\nOn appeal, this court affirmed the trial court\u2019s ruling dismissing Buck\u2019s claim, holding that it \u201cwas truly a compulsory counterclaim and should have been brought before or during the trial of this matter.\u201d Jones I, 352 Ark. at 52, 98 S.W.3d at 412-13. Thereafter, Buck filed a petition for rehearing in this court, which was denied without comment. Our mandate issued on April 3, 2003.\nFollowing our mandate, on April 9, 2003, Double \u201cD\u201d filed a petition asking the trial court for an order releasing the $14,600 in funds that were put up by the Joneses as a supersedeas bond, which were being held by the Commissioner pending the outcome of the Joneses\u2019 appeal. From these funds, Double \u201cD\u201d sought lost rent on the property from November 2, 2001, to the present, at a rate of $700 per month, as well as attorney\u2019s fees and costs since the appeal. Double \u201cD\u201d also asked the trial court to withhold the Joneses\u2019 portion of the proceeds of the sale until they vacated the premises.\nOn April 25, 2003, attorney Stilley, acting on behalf of both Buck and Robbie Jones, filed a response denying that Double \u201cD\u201d was entitled to any rent on the property, or attorney\u2019s fees, or any costs beyond those authorized in our mandate. Along with their response, the Joneses filed a motion for permission to file a \u201cComplaint for Illegal Exaction Against the Commissioner or Other Parties or Both.\u201d The proposed complaint, which was attached to the motion, essentially restated the claim raised previously by Buck, namely that the 1989 reappraisal and the resulting tax assessments and levies were illegal because they were not done countywide and they did not comply with the rollback provisions of Amendment 59, and that the amount of taxes levied against the Joneses\u2019 property unlawfully exceeded the product of the legal valuation and the millage rate by some $2 each year.\nA hearing was held on May 9, 2003, during which Double \u201cD\u201d presented testimony from its president, Damon Lee Wright, pertaining to the rental value of the Joneses\u2019 residence. Wright testified that based on the housing market in Fort Smith, the amenities of the property, and its central location, a monthly rate of $700 was a fair rental rate. The Joneses did not present any testimony challenging Wright\u2019s figure.\nAt the conclusion of'the hearing, the court heard argument from the parties. In support of its petition for the release of funds, counsel for Double \u201cD\u201d relied on the Joneses\u2019 supersedeas bond, which had been posted prior to the first appeal and reflected the Joneses\u2019 agreement to satisfy all rents, costs, or damages to the property during the pendency of the appeal. As for the Joneses\u2019 motion for permission to file an illegal-exaction complaint, counsel for Double \u201cD\u201d argued that the claim was barred because it was the same claim raised by Buck in his counterclaim, which the trial court ruled as untimely and this court affirmed. Counsel for the Commissioner echoed this sentiment, arguing that the issue had been raised and rejected previously by both the trial court and this court.\nIn response, counsel for the Joneses argued that although the allegation of an illegal exaction had been raised previously by Buck Jones, it was raised for a different purpose. Specifically, counsel stated: \u201cWhen I entered my appearance as attorney for Buck Jones and raised the issue that the taxes on this \u2014 there were illegal exaction taxes included in this, the sole purpose of raising that issue was to demonstrate that the deed was void; not voidable, it was void.\u201d Counsel agreed that the Joneses could not relitigate that issue, because the trial court had rejected it previously and this court affirmed, and that \u201c[t]he law of the case says the land belongs to Double \u2018D\u2019 Properties.\u201d Counsel then explained that the current purpose for raising the illegal-exaction argument was not to get the property back, but to secure a refund of the illegal tax amounts paid by them. Counsel insisted that such an argument could not have been raised previously, because the Joneses initially wanted the property itself, not the money.\nAt the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court denied the Joneses\u2019 motion for permission to file an illegal-exaction complaint based on this court\u2019s mandate. The trial court granted the petition to release the funds under the supersedeas bond. Out of those funds, the trial court awarded $9,800 in back rent to Double \u201cD,\u201d which was calculated at $700 per month from April 12, 2002, the date of the trial court\u2019s original judgment in favor of Double \u201cD,\u201d to June 12, 2003, the date on which the Joneses were ordered to vacate the premises. The trial court also ordered the payment of costs of $144 to Double \u201cD\u201d and $81 to the Commissioner, as per this court\u2019s mandate. However, the trial court denied any attorney\u2019s fees to Double \u201cD.\u201d The trial court ordered the remaining $4,575 be released to Robbie Jones. A written order was entered by the trial court on May 16, 2003, and Robbie Jones filed her notice of appeal on June 10, 2003.\nI. Denial of Permission to File Illegal-Exaction Complaint\nFor her first point on appeal, Jones argues that the trial court erred in refusing to require Appellees to repay or cause the repayment of all amounts derived from the sale of her property, less the legal taxes and other lawful charges against the land, as a condition precedent to the transfer of possession of the property. In support of this point, Jones argues the merits and substance of her illegal-exaction claim. A review of the record, however, demonstrates that the trial court did not rule on this point. Rather, as set out below, the trial court\u2019s ruling was merely a denial of Jones\u2019s motion for permission to file an illegal-exaction complaint at that late stage of the proceedings:\nBy The Court: I\u2019m denying your motion. I think that was addressed in the Supreme Court\u2019s opinion and in the Court\u2019s original opinion entered April 12.\nMr. Stilley: Okay, so that would stand true then also for the illegal exaction portion?\nBy The Court: I\u2019m not ruling, I\u2019m just denying your motion.You had filed a motion to be permitted to file that cause of action in this pending case, and what I\u2019m doing is denying that motion. I\u2019m not saying you can\u2019t file an independent case.\nMr. Stilley: Okay.\nBy The Court: I\u2019m just saying that, you know, as far as this pending matter in this case that I\u2019m denying that motion.\nMr. Stilley: Okay, and is the basis of the Court\u2019s ruling then res judicata?\nBy The Court: I\u2019m ruling based on the Supreme Court Mandate.\nThus, because the trial court did not rule on the merits of the proposed complaint, we will not entertain Jones\u2019s argument on this point, except to the extent that it challenges the trial court\u2019s denial of permission to file the illegal-exaction claim. See State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Ledbetter, 355 Ark. 28, 129 S.W.3d 815 (2003); Bell v. Bershears, 351 Ark. 260, 92 S.W.3d 32 (2002); Doe v. Baum, 348 Ark. 259, 72 S.W.3d 476 (2002) (collectively holding that the failure to obtain a ruling is a procedural bar to this court\u2019s consideration of an issue on appeal).\nDouble \u201cD\u201d argues that the trial court was correct in denying the motion on the ground that the issue had already been raised by Buck Jones and had already been rejected as untimely. Double \u201cD\u201d thus contends that the issue that Jones was attempting to raise in her proposed complaint was barred by the doctrine of res judicata. The Commissioner, on the other hand, contends that the trial court\u2019s ruling should be upheld based on the doctrine of law of the case. Specifically, the Commissioner contends that because the trial court already rejected the same claim raised by Buck and this court has affirmed that ruling, both Buck and Robbie were precluded from attempting to raise the issue once again. We agree with the Commissioner that the trial court\u2019s ruling was correct because the issue had already been decided in the first appeal and was, therefore, the law of the case.\nThe doctrine of law of the case prohibits a court from reconsidering issues of law and fact that have already been decided on appeal. Cadillac Cowboy, Inc. v. Jackson, 347 Ark. 963, 69 S.W.3d 383 (2002). The doctrine provides that a decision of an appellate court establishes the law of the case for the trial upon remand and for the appellate court itself upon subsequent review. Id.; Clemmons v. Office of Child Support Enfcm\u2019t, 345 Ark. 330, 47 S.W.3d 227 (2001). The doctrine serves to effectuate efficiency and finality in the judicial process and its purpose is to maintain consistency and avoid reconsideration of matters once decided during the course of a single, continuing lawsuit. Cadillac Cowboy, 347 Ark. 963, 69 S.W.3d 383; Cloird v. State, 352 Ark. 190, 99 S.W.3d 419 (2003).\nIn the present case, the illegal-exaction claim asserted by Appellant Robbie Jones is the same claim previously raised by her husband, Buck Jones. Both claims alleged that the taxes assessed on the Joneses\u2019 property were the result of an illegal reappraisal, and that their collection and levy constituted an illegal exaction, in violation of Amendment 59. Both claims also alleged that the amount of taxes actually levied on the Joneses\u2019 residence exceeded the product of the legal valuation and the millage rate by approximately $2 per year. Buck\u2019s claim was dismissed by the trial court on the ground that it amounted to a compulsory counterclaim that should have been raised at the earliest opportunity. Thus, because Buck did not raise the issue until after the trial court had made its ruling on the merits of the case, his claim was untimely. This court affirmed the trial court\u2019s ruling, and that ruling is the law of the case in this matter. Accordingly, the issue is now barred for reconsideration.\nWe are unpersuaded by Jones\u2019s attempt to distinguish the current claim from that raised prior to the first appeal on the bases that (1) the relief sought is different, and (2) the standing of the persons bringing the claim is different. On the first basis, she asserts that the previous claim only sought to set aside the deed or have it declared void, whereas the current claim seeks a refund of all the tax monies illegally assessed,' levied, and collected. She claims that she could not have simultaneously sought a refund of the tax monies and ownership of the property itself, because she insists that these are inconsistent positions. However, she offers no convincing argument or authority as to why she could not have pursued such alternative theories of relief, and we are not aware of any. To the contrary, it is common practice to plead alternative theories and seek alternative remedies in the same lawsuit.\nRegarding the issue of standing, Jones asserts that a prior claim brought by a person who was not the property owner should not stand as a bar to the fee holder. This assertion fails to recognize the import of our ruling that the illegal-exaction claim, regardless of who asserted it, was raised untimely. That was the gist of the trial court\u2019s ruling and this court\u2019s ruling in the first appeal. The bottom line is that both Buck and Robbie Jones waited until after the case had been determined on its merits before they raised the specter of an illegal exaction. We thus reject this argument.\nWe also reject Jones\u2019s argument that her claim is not barred by law of the case because the previous illegal-exaction claim was not considered on the merits. She relies on Colbert v. State, 346 Ark. 144, 55 S.W.3d 268 (2001), wherein this court stated:\nThe State asserts in its brief that the law-of-the-case doctrine should govern this appeal. We disagree. The doctrine precludes the trial court on remand from considering and deciding questions that were explicitly or implicitly determined on appeal. As previously mentioned, Mr. Colbert was procedurally barred in his first appeal from challenging the admission of evidence that supported his simultaneous-possession conviction. Thus, because that issue was not before this court in the first appeal, it was not expressly or implicitly determined in Colbert I.\nId. at 147, 55 S.W.3d at 271 n.1 (citations omitted). Jones\u2019s reliance on this holding is misplaced, because there was no procedural bar of our consideration of the trial court\u2019s ruling in the first appeal. As stated previously, the trial court dismissed the illegal-exaction claim on the ground that it was raised untimely, and this court affirmed that ruling. The fact that a claim is dismissed as untimely is not the same as saying that it is procedurally barred from appellate review. To the contrary, our previous decision demonstrates that the issue was before this court in the first appeal and was decided.\nIn sum, the illegal-exaction claim now raised by Appellant Robbie Jones is the same claim that her husband, Buck Jones, attempted to raise prior to the first appeal of this matter. The trial court ruled that Buck\u2019s illegal-exaction claim was a compulsory counterclaim that should have been raised at the first opportunity, once he was joined as a party to the suit. Because he did not raise it until after the trial had been held and after the trial court had issued its ruling, the trial court dismissed his claim as untimely. We affirmed the trial court\u2019s ruling, and our ruling became the law of this case. Thus, when Robbie attempted to raise the same illegal-exaction claim following our mandate, the trial court was correct to deny her permission to pursue such claim based on our mandate.\nII. Rent to Double \u201cD\u201d\nFor her second point on appeal, Jones argues that the trial court erred in awarding Double \u201cD\u201d rent on the property \u201cuntil and unless all proceeds of the sale of the property, less lawful taxes and other lawful charges are paid to Appellant.\u201d She argues that Double \u201cD\u201d is not entitled to take possession of the property, and thus not entitled to collect rent, because she was illegally taxed prior to the sale of her property by the Commissioner. This argument is nothing more than a discussion of the substance and merits of her illegal-exaction complaint, which the trial court denied her permission to file. Accordingly, we will not address this argument beyond the trial court\u2019s ruling.\nThe record reflects that the trial court\u2019s award of rent to Double \u201cD\u201d appears to be based on the specific agreement made by the Joneses prior to the first appeal when they posted their supersedeas bond. The bond provides that the Joneses agreed to \u201cpay and satisfy all rents, costs or damages to the subject property during the pendency of the appeal,\u201d and that as security for such bond, they pledged \u201call interest they, their heirs and assigns, may have in the principle sums on deposit\u201d with the Commissioner as a result of the tax sale conducted on April 11, 2001. The trial court\u2019s order awarding rent to Double \u201cD\u201d specifically reflects this agreement by the Joneses.\nJones has offered no authority, convincing or otherwise, as to how the trial court\u2019s ruling on this issue is in error. This court has repeatedly stated that it does'not consider assignments of error that are unsupported by convincing authority. See, e.g, Holcombe v. Marts, 352 Ark. 201, 99 S.W.3d 401 (2003); Bonds v. Carter, 348 Ark. 591, 75 S.W.3d 192 (2002); Cadillac Cowboy, 347 Ark. 963, 69 S.W.3d 383. Moreover, Jones does not challenge the amount of rent, $700 per month, awarded to Double \u201cD.\u201d We thus affirm the trial court\u2019s judgment on this point.\nAffirmed.\nDaniels no longer holds this office; Mark Wilcox is the current Commissioner of State Lands.\nAs noted in our previous opinion in this matter, the deed issued for the property was in Mrs. Jones\u2019s name alone.", "type": "majority", "author": "Donald L. Corbin, Justhe order of the" } ], "attorneys": [ "Oscar Stilley, for appellant.", "Gean, Gean & Gean, by: David Charles Gean, for appellee Double \u201cD\u201d Properties.", "Mike Beebe, Att\u2019y Gen., by: Anthony W. Black, Ass\u2019t Att\u2019y Gen., and Carol A. Lincoln, Staff Attorney, for appellee Charlie Daniels." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "Robbie R. JONES v. DOUBLE \u201cD\u201d PROPERTIES, INC., An Arkansas Corporation, and Charlie Daniels, Commissioner of State Lands\n03-1009\n161 S.W.3d 839\nSupreme Court of Arkansas\nOpinion delivered April 29, 2004\n[Rehearing denied June 10, 2004.]\nOscar Stilley, for appellant.\nGean, Gean & Gean, by: David Charles Gean, for appellee Double \u201cD\u201d Properties.\nMike Beebe, Att\u2019y Gen., by: Anthony W. Black, Ass\u2019t Att\u2019y Gen., and Carol A. Lincoln, Staff Attorney, for appellee Charlie Daniels." }, "file_name": "0148-01", "first_page_order": 170, "last_page_order": 181 }